532: AES’s innovation culture, 24/7 carbon free energy, Agrivoltiacs and more with Woody Rubin, Chief Development Officer

The AES Corporation has dominated almost every category it's ever embraced, and clean energy is no exception. In today's Tactical Tuesday, you'll learn how the Arlington, Virginia-based global power company is building on an innovative work culture to grow its renewable energy portfolio.Woody Rubin, Chief Development Officer (CDO) at AES's wholly-owned clean energy development business, credited the company's success to a "straight climb up of incremental growth" at an "unbelievable scale." He also points to the company’s cultural focus on innovation and ability to embrace new technology risk as key elements of the success AES has garnered in transitioning from a traditional fossil fuel power company to a clean energy powerhouse.Woody joined AES in 2014 when it moved into the distributed solar market with the acquisition of Main Street Power. Woody was a senior vice president and general counsel for Boulder, Colorado-based Main Street, a distributed solar project developer in the 300-kilowatt to 5-megawatt range. Even though Main Street was a small team within a large company, Woody said AES had "the DNA for the kind of innovation and agility it takes to scale up a renewables business."AES has evolved its clean energy business through mergers and acquisitions, growing its team from 30 to 900 people in the past eight years and over 4.5 Gigawatts of operating powerplants. It’s working with its customers like Google to co-create and deliver smarter, greener energy solutions that meet their needs, including 24/7 carbon-free energy. Tune in today to hear the practical, tactical strategies AES is using — and learn more about the award winning company itself, which has earned successive accolades for innovation and ethics.Today’s conversation was part of the RE+ PowerUp Media Zone, a live production of SunCast Media.If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!SunCast is proudly supported by Trina Solar.You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.mysuncast.com/sponsors.Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 730 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeoLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus